NOTICE:This is the Guidelines post from our old forum. I have worked to get the links connected to the current forums. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.

Glossary:

Forum: a category or subject for discussion. Examples are PCTalk General or PCTalk Computers.

Thread: a series of related messages. When a new message (topic) is posted and several people post replies, the string of messages is a thread.

Topic: the first message in a thread. For example, if you want to post a message about a problem with a certain Software package but there is no discussion (thread) about it, you need to start a new topic by posting your message.

Reply: a comment or message you add to an existing topic (thread).

Post: adding a message or comment, either a new topic or a reply.

Guidelines for posting to the PCTalk forums

1. Please ensure your new topics are in the correct forum so that you are more likely to receive a quick answer.Some of the forums are linked to here for your convenience.

Hardware

Requests for help and support with computer hardware, including hardware troubleshooting, belong in the Hardware forum;

Any other issues specifically involving hardware belong in the General HW forum.

.

Software

Requests for help and support with Windows and UNIX Software belong in the PCTalk Software forum;

Topics may be moved to more appropriate areas if necessary by Moderators so, if you cannot find your topic where you placed it, please check in your profile to see if it was moved.

2. Please include in your original post as complete a description of your system as possible as relates to your problem so we are better able to help you.

You will probably get help faster if the title of your post included some basic information about your problem rather than just a generic, "HELP!!!";.

Particularly with hardware problems, it may be vital to know things like make and manufacturer of cards or peripherals;.

If you are asked for additional system information, just edit your original post so everything remains in the same location;.

If you post additional questions in different forums, you may either copy and paste the information from the old post to the new one or (preferable) give a clickable link in the new one pointing to the old one.

3. Please try not to post topics or replies containing the following items as this detracts from our stated purpose of helping others:

Subjects which have already been discussed numerous times (please try to use Search first;

Flames directed towards other users (locked on sight, possibly with a temporary ban);

Rants against any individual, product, or company presented as fact. If you dislike something, your posts are still welcome, just please do not present your opinions as fact;

Anything not relating to the original subject of the topic (although General Discussion is rather flexible);

Images linked from other sites without their permission (simply giving a URL is much more polite).

Links to mirror sites. If you must quote someone, use their site. We do not exist to promote mirrors but to try to help others.

4. Please do not promote your own site. Some exceptions follow:

It's a personal site, not business (only allowed in the Members Lounge);

It's to help somebody find something they're looking for;

It's a single, small text URL located in your signature only.

5. Please do not post spam.

Spam includes advertisements, content deemed inappropriate or illegal, and flooding of the boards;

Spammers will be kicked from the forum or chatroom and receive a lengthy ban.

Posting more than one topic about the same site or subject is considered spam and will be grounds for immediate removal.

6. Please do not make needless, incessant usage of:

Emoticons ;

Line breaks or ALL-CAPS;

Giant fonts with hard to read colors;

Swearing (although it may be tolerated in moderation).

7. Please try to refrain from making unrequested personal contact with PCTalk Team Members.

Support should not be requested via instant messaging, private messaging or e-mail if at all possible. Any contact received and answered that way does not allow the answer to help other users.

8. Not everyone has Broadband so please ensure that your signature:

Remains a reasonable size;

Does not contain excessively large images or animations;

Follows all the rules applying to posts themselves.

The reason for the guidelines is that large graphics and animations take a long time to load and most of the users I'm interested in helping are on dial-up. Ridiculously big Avatars are not allowed either, see the following.

9. Please ensure that your avatar:

Is not more than 100 pixels in width, or 100 pixels in height;

Does not exceed 16 KB in size;

Does not contain animations;

If approved may be uploaded to our site by one of the Website Admins if you wish.

May be linked to an off-site avatar but the width and height size limitations will be enforced and you may not like the results.

10. Multiple Usernames are not permitted.You should only register one username to prevent confusion when assistance is offered and to provide necessary continuity for your online presence. Should you require your existing username changed, please contact one of our Site Admin members.

11. Forum Members Email address.Please ensure you give us a valid email address. You should hide it from view in your Profile but, if an Admin needs to get in touch with you, we must have a valid email address to do so. If we try to get in touch and find you have an invalid email address you may find you cannot get back into the forum.

12. Please do not argue with the enforcement of the above guidelines.

If a PCTalk Team Member asks you to comply with one of these rules, you should comply immediately or there may be complications none of us will appreciate.

13. Please enjoy the PCTalk.info Community Forums!

If you have any problems, just make a post in the appropriate forum, and somebody will be glad to help you.

The moderators are here to make everyone's visit more enjoyable, so if you experience any problems with abusive users, please tell a moderator.